This study examines the role of modern sports in constructing national identities and the way leaders have exploited sports to achieve domestic and foreign policy goals. The book focuses on the development of national sporting cultures in Great Britain and the United States, the particular processes by which the rest of Europe and the world adopted or rejected their games, and the impact of sports on domestic politics and foreign affairs. Teams competing in international sporting events provide people a shared national experience and a means to differentiate "us" from "them." Particular...

This study examines the role of modern sports in constructing national identities and domestic and foreign policy. It focuses on the development of national sporting cultures in Great Britain and the United States, how the rest of Europe and the world adopted or rejected their games, and the impact of sports on politics.